Are We There Yet
June 23-29, 2014
By Jay Edwards
The U.S. Open at Pinehurst.
Lisa, our event planner, tour guide and chauffer (Bob and I in the back seat with a large cold Styrofoam thing between us – squeaky but effective) did a wonderful job. She can have the position permanently if she wants it, sorry Peggy.
The morning of the final round, KM and I went down to the Hampton Inn buffet where I found some sausage and a biscuit and soggy oatmeal. KM tried the omelet-looking thing in the steamer, which she said tasted better than it looked. I’ve been allergic to eggs for about five years now. Happened one day out of the blue in a Waffle House. I also developed allergies around that same time to penicillin and poison ivy, neither of which had bothered me before. Maybe there’s a connection.
We left for Southern Pines, Aberdeen and Pinehurst - the Sandhills. It was an easy drive, with the only distraction, a seemingly drunk driver in a pickup in front of us about for about ten miles. Hope he survived the day.
The Sandhills is an interior region of North Carolina and South Carolina, which is a strip of ancient beach dunes that divides the Piedmont from the coastal plain. Around 20 million years ago it was a coastline, when the ocean level was higher, or the land lower.
In 1895, soda fountain and silver plate millionaire James Walker Tufts bought 5,500 acres, for a buck and a quarter each, in Moore County, with plans for a “health resort for people of modest means.” That part has changed.
Pinehurst later became known for its golf courses with the arrival of golf pro Donald Ross from Scotland in December 1900. Ross had worked for Old Tom Morris, and used his life savings to get to America. He played professionally, finishing fifth in the 1903 U.S. Open, 11 shots behind Willie Anderson, also from Scotland. In fact, the top 11 finishers that year were all Scots. Ross won $80 and Anderson, $200.
As Bob drove, Lisa, the tech junkie, found us funny clips on youtube. While she looked for the one of the teacher calling roll (“Do you want to go to war BaLaKay!”) I Googled Sandhills and found that some of the notable vertebrate species of the area include the Gopher Tortoise, Northern pine snakes and Red-cockaded Woodpeckers.
Gopher Tortoise?
KM was busy trying to decide if her purse would make it through security. The rules say a bag about the size of a fanny pack – 6-by-6-by-6 inches – is allowed. She looked at her black purse, clearly larger than that, and said, “I’m sure they’ll allow this.” I kept quiet.
We parked in a large dusty sandy field and began the walk to the security gates and buses just beyond that would take us to the course. It was about a 300-yard walk. Halfway there, an attractive girl was coming towards us. She carried a purse and was frowning. “Can you believe they won’t let me take this in?”
“Is it just me, or does hers look smaller than yours?” I asked KM.
“I’m sure they’ll allow this,” she said as I begin planning my run back to the car and the heart attack that would surely follow.
I hung back as Bob walked right through security while KM and Lisa attempted to cram the purse into a little wooden box. “If it don’t fit, leave it.”
I watched as the security guy kept shaking his head and KM kept cramming. Finally she relented and I began the slow jog back through the dusty field, hoping at least I might catch a glimpse of a Gopher Tortoise.
